I Forget Where We Were
by lovelyvee
Summary: There were many things to be said about the various Hogwarts students during the beginning months of the year 1976. They were innocent still, happily ignorant to the chaos and dangers that were beginning to brew outside of the heavily protected grounds. Some of them, sad as it may be, would not live to tell their tales.


**Prelogue**

 **November 1979**

Layla was sat at the small wooden table that was placed smack dab in the center of the large kitchen.

Her long brunette hair was draped over the back of the wooden chair; she sat with an almost unnaturally straight posture, shoulders tensed, one of her arms draped across her chest, biting nervously at her fingernails on her hand opposite.

Placed neatly in front of her on the table was a silver tea cup embellished with the Lockwood family crest on the side. It was nearly empty but a dark liquid residue still sat at the bottom. Next to it was an open bottle of scotch. And set right smack dab in the middle of the table, was a ring.

No doubt it was a beautiful ring. _"It's a trick to keep you away from me, see. You'll eventually grow tired of leaving the Manor with that rock always weighing you down,"_ Sirius had snorted.

And it was true. The large emerald was encrusted with tiny diamonds; on either side of the jewel were two more slightly smaller emeralds, also encrusted with tiny diamonds, all residing on a thick gold band that became thinner at the bottom. The Diggory family heirloom _had_ seemed to have been wearing her down as of late.

And that was precisely why it was now set right smack dab in the middle of Layla's tiny kitchen table.

There was a loud knocking coming from the front doors and her unnaturally straight posture was no more as she jumped a bit, slightly startled at the unexpected noise. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was already 6 o'clock. Her first day off in months and she had spent two hours sat at the table drinking tea with scotch and staring at her ring.

She told no one of her day off so she wasn't expecting any company. She wondered if Cadell had stopped to see her at St. Mungo's and found she wasn't there. The thought of seeing him right then had her heart pounding in her ears and made her fingers twitch so she grabbed the bottle of scotch, filled the nearly empty cup of tea a little more than halfway and took two large gulps.

Della entered the kitchen and curtsied. "Mistress Layla, Miss Marlene McKinnon is here for a visit," the small elf squeaked happily. She had grown fond of her during her many visits before the girls entered Hogwarts.

Layla furrowed her eyebrows at the tall blonde that entered her kitchen. "What are you doing here?" she scowled.

"Sirius asked me to speak with you," Marlene replied gruffly, arms crossed, red lips pursed tightly together.

Layla snorted before raising her teacup to her lips. "He's even more of an idiot then if he's sent you on his behalf." She took another drink. "Unless you're here to tell me that you two are back together. In which case bully for you."

Marlene was eyeing the bottle of scotch. "Honestly, Lockwood, slow down. The sun's barely set and you're already drunk, aren't you?" She shook her head. "I don't know what he sees in you. Besides your shapely ass and Gringotts vault, I mean."

"Sirius loves me," Layla snapped.

"Bully for you. I couldn't much care honestly but he wouldn't shut up about it and so here I am. It smells lovely, Della, thank you very much." She smiled sweetly at the elf who had just offered her a freshly brewed cup of tea. The elf curtsied before leaving the kitchen to continue on with her other chores.

"And so here you are." Layla didn't offer Marlene a seat so she stood by the fireplace, drinking her tea. Then, "Well I suppose you've already spoken to me, more than I'd have liked, if you'll excuse my frankness, so you can run along now and tell him that I have absolutely no desire to ever speak with him again."

Marlene shook her head. "That won't be good enough for him and you know it."

"I don't much care."

Marlene frowned, walking forward. "Listen, Lockwood, if the only way to get Sirius to stop pestering me is by pestering you then so be it." She pulled out the chair opposite Layla and sat down, leaning back and stretching out her long legs. She reached over and grabbed the bottle of scotch, pouring just a little bit in her tea. "I've nothing better to do the rest of the day."

Layla opened her mouth to protest but suddenly there was a deafening sound filling the home. She bolted up from her seat, wand in hand.

"Someone's broken onto the grounds!" Layla shouted to Marlene over the sirens. "Come on, there's a few passages in here that will get us out undetected, Della's likely already there." As she turned to move, Marlene reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry, Lockwood," Marlene rasped in a voice that did not belong to Marlene. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you."

Layla's eyes widened. "What are you—?"

She stopped midsentence. Her eyes widened as she watched Marlene's blonde locks as they slowly became darker and darker in color. She became taller, thicker, more muscled at the top. Then her facial features began to shift form.

"I had to," the imposter told her. "I had no choice. Marlene, he would have killed her. I love her too much to let that happen. I'm so sorry."

Layla gripped the back of her chair for support when he finally stopped changing and looked up at her. Time seemed to slow down as she took in the sight of his face, her eyes seemingly unable to tear themselves away from his. She watched him speak the word _Incarcerous_ but was too shocked to do anything to stop her arms from being bound together. Her wand slipped out of her hand and landed on the floor. There was an eerie ringing in her ears that blocked out the sirens still sounding throughout the grounds.

Then suddenly, the ringing stopped, time sped back up and she found her voice. "Oh my God," she whispered. She could not unglue her eyes from his face. " _Oh my God._ I . . . You . . . _Marlene . . ."_

Not two milliseconds after speaking her name, his hands were on her neck, thumbs pressing into her throat. Her eyes widened but with her arms bound she could not fight him. He was so close to her that their noises were nearly touching. "If you say one word of Marlene I _will_ make you watch while I kill everyone you love," he threatened in a low voice.

She struggled to choke out the words. "Even Sirius?"

She was starting to see black spots in her vision, her heart was beginning to pound frantically, and all she could hear was the sound of someone shouting her name in the distance.

"Even Sirius," he promised solemnly before releasing his hold on her neck.

She crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. She couldn't help the sob that escaped her lips when she looked back up at him.


End file.
